@jripley @datarama I heard an explanation of the Trolley Problem that was that you start with 5 vs. 1, then you say that 1 is your mom. Then you say the 5 are murderers and the 1 is a baby. Then you iterate, over and over again.
The point is not "kill 1 to save 5." The point is "Where's your line, and why?
@OrionKidder @jripley @datarama ... and it's worth noting that the one thing trolley problems really end up conveying is the idea that you can do arithmetic on that, you can net out good against bad, they cancel out.
which, like, personally we disagree with. in our personal view that's a core premise of utilitarianism and deserves to be soundly rejected.
@ireneista @OrionKidder @jripley The answer to all trolley problems is "mu".
And I'm not even a buddhist.
@datarama @OrionKidder @jripley quite so!
@ireneista @OrionKidder @datarama The Trolley Problem, or at least the meme, does serve a useful purpose:
If a slide deck contains the Trolley Problem (except as satire), it tells you the presenter and leadership are unserious people and/or psychopaths, and you should remove yourself from whatever project it is.